Friday, March 20, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert March 20 - 21, 2015

"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center. Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com. If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/. Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR]. It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed. It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to the war in Iraq. To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to mobuszewski at Verizon dot net. Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.

THE NOTICES LIST will include only notices of NCNR actions and related information and is open to any interested person to subscribe. It will be moderated to maintain focus & will include periodic notices about getting involved in NCNR national organizing. To join the NOTICES List, send an email message to mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.

4] – You can help safeguard human rights and fragile ecosystems through your purchase of HOCOFOLA Café Quetzal. Bags of ground coffee or whole beans can be ordered by mailing in an order form. Also note organic cocoa and sugar are for sale. For more details and to download the order form, go to http://friendsoflatinamerica.typepad.com/hocofola/2010/02/hocofola-cafe-quetzal-order-form-2010.html. The coffee comes in one-pound bags.

Fill out the form and mail it with a check made out to HOCOFOLA on or before the second week of the month. Be sure you indicate ground or beans for each type of coffee ordered. Send it to Francine Sheppard at 5639B, Harpers Farm Rd., Columbia 21044. The coffee will arrive some time the following week and you will be notified where to pick it up. Contact Francine at 410-992-7679 or FrancineMSW@aol.com.

5] – On Fri., Mar. 20 from 9 to 10 AM, take a stand for justice & accountability, and join the protest when the Mexican delegation arrives at the hearings of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, 1889 F St. NW, WDC. In September 2014, dozens of students from Ayotzinapa's teachers' college in the Mexican state of Guerrero were attacked by police. Six people were killed. The police then forcibly 'disappeared' 43 students, who have been missing ever since. The Ayotzinapa 43 have become a symbol of the over 100,000 murdered and 25,000 disappeared in the last 8 years of the US/Mexican Drug War. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1407731726203023/.

7] – On Fri., Mar. 20 from 9:30 AM to noon, join this issue forum at Georgetown University, Lohrfink Auditorium, 37th and O Sts. NW, WDC 20007, for a frank discussion on the War on Poverty's complicated legacy in D.C., today's demographic shifts, and the implications for our city's low-income residents in the future. There are many speakers. Register and have a continental breakfast at 9 AM. RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/dc-the-war-on-poverty-then-now-the-future-tickets-15653993516.

8] – Go to the Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center, 1307 L St. NW, NYU, WDC, on Fri., Mar. 20 from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM to hear Burt Neuborne argue that the Supreme Court has gotten the actual text of the First Amendment wrong. If judges would only look at the full text—all forty-five words—they would discover MADISON’S MUSIC, a First Amendment that is democracy’s best friend. RSVP at https://www.brennancenter.org/madisons-music-burt-neuborne. Email Jafreen Uddin at jafreen.uddin@nyu.edu or call 646.292.8345.

9] – On Fri., Mar. 20 from noon to 1 PM, join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in a vigil urging the powers that be to abolish war and torture, to disarm all weapons, to end indefinite detention, to close Guantanamo, to establish justice for all and help create the Beloved Community! The vigil takes place at the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contact Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416.

10] – In “Chief Complaint,” author Hatim Kanaaneh explores the changing, precarious, and ever-shrinking world of Palestinians living in Israel. As his village’s first Western-trained physician, Kanaaneh has had intimate access to his neighbor’s lives, which he chronicles here in a fictionalized collection of vignettes. These compelling short stories reveal the struggles, triumphs, memories and hopes of the indigenous Palestinian community living in a state that does not acknowledge their past or encourage their future. Hear from the author at the Jerusalem Fund, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC on Fri., Mar. 20 from 1 to 2 PM. You must RSVP at http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/RegisterForEvent/i/50572. Call 202-338-1958 or email info@thejerusalemfund.org.

11] – There is usually a silent peace vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St. The next vigil is on until Mar. 20. On that Friday it will remind us that War Is Not the Answer and that there is the need to stop torture, and prosecute the torturers.

12] – Domestic violence is a major problem that plagues all communities, including immigrant communities. Domestic violence cannot be overlooked or ignored. The Arab-American community must take active steps to open the “closed door” and address domestic violence. This program at the Impact Hub DC, 419 7th St. NW, 2nd Floor (main floor), WDC on Fri., Mar. 20 from 6 to 8:30 PM will discuss key issues and trends in domestic violence, and educate attendees on important services for addressing domestic violence. It will inform attendees on best practices for working with law enforcement to combat domestic violence, as well as best practices for persons in the social work and family health fields. Visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/adc-arabesque-lecture-series-programs.

13] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at 8 PM. Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St. Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be Mar. 20. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

14] – Go to a fundraiser at Wilson High School, 3950 Chesapeake St. NW, WDC 20016 on Fri., Mar. 20 at 8 PM for a fundraiser to support the great work of the Employment Justice Center (EJC). The fundraiser will include a special musical comedy revue performance. After the performance, go to a party with the Hexagon cast, EJC staff and supporters at Guapo's Restaurant, 4515 Wisconsin Ave. NW, WDC. Group ticket prices are available! $25/ticket for groups of 10 or more. For group ticket sales, email aortega@dcejc.org. Go to https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50675/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=81003.

15] – At the Double Tree Crystal City, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA from Sat., Mar. 21 at 8 AM to Mon., Mar. 23 at 6 PM, participate in the 2015 National Young Feminist Leadership Conference. It will provide young activists with the opportunity to network, grow their knowledge on pertinent domestic and global feminist issues, and fine-tune their organizing methodology. Individuals can now register for $35, and groups of 5 or more can register altogether or pay separately for $30 per person. Email nyflc@feminist.org.

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs